Meet Our Team

Steve Branton, CFP®, ADPA, CPCC, ACC

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Steve Branton’s mission is to serve clients as their thought partner in development and ongoing implementation of their financial life plans.

Steve has a degree in Economics from Tulane University and completed his financial planning studies at Southern Methodist University. Steve has worked in the financial planning field since 2007; he earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation in 2009, and joined the Mosaic team in 2011. Steve is an Accredited Domestic Partner Advisor (ADPA); he has received special training on the issues affecting non-traditional clients, such as unmarried couples, domestic partners or same sex couples, as well as the financial and legal issues related to marriage planning. Steve earned the Certified Co-Active Coach® (CPCC) credential. He received his training at the Coaches Training Institute (CTI), and is also accredited via the International Coach Federation as an Associate Credentialed Coach (ACC).

Steve currently serves as co-chair of the Professional Advisory Board of the Horizons Foundation. As a core part of his professional mission, he annually volunteers for SF Financial Planning Days, which provides local residents with access to free and objective advice. Steve recently co-organized the first of its kind pro bono planning day at the SF LGBT Center. He has also volunteered as a planner at the Jewish Community Center’s annual Aging Gracefully Fair, the SF Spanish Financial Advice Line and student planning days at the City College of San Francisco. Steve has been a speaker on planning topics for the Earned Asset Resource Network (EARN) and Treasure Island Job Corps.

As an experienced Bay Area financial planner, Steve has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, the San Francisco Business Times, and other publications, and he writes articles on a variety of financial topics, including cross-border planning, crowdfunding, and marriage planning.

NerdWallet writer Liz Weston reports for Associated Press on how parents have supported many a grown child's business, only to be repaid by endangering their own retirements and darkened family dynamics. Steve notes that estate planning can help lighten the relationships between siblings down the line:

Parents don’t have to make equal distributions to each child, but may want to consider accounting for money in their wills or other estate plans. If a loan isn’t paid back, for example, it could be deducted from that child’s inheritance, says Steve Branton, a CFP® in San Francisco.

Writer Ryan Neal offers a wealth of tips for fostering an inclusive workplace, and many of the suggestions in his article are cited to our own Steve Branton. From offering training and outreach marketing, to celebrating LGBTQ-specific events, and targeted networking with local advocacy groups, Steve's viewpoint takes both advisor and client into account.

It's not unheard of for the level of investment-related anxiety to reach soaring heights when anticipating falling markets after a long period of growth, notes Cyril Tuohy for InsuranceNewsNet. Steve, quoted in Cyril's piece on risk, has even coined a phrase to describe it: the barbell syndrome. And it doesn't sound like a very comfortable barbell to carry:

That’s where the client, looking to capture gains before the window closes and the market falls, has too much exposure to individual stocks, but also keeps a cash hoard as a hedge against collapse.

“The person is in the middle and on either side are uneven elements,” he said.

Steve is quoted throughout this article, delivering several smart ways to ease future money and health worries with a little retirement planning. Among others, this article was syndicated to MSN.

Here’s a highlight:

For his part, Branton recommends using a program that allows for sustained money withdrawals, even in a recession. “Some reductions may be recommended during a prolonged recession, but in general this type of plan should be able to sustain and provide for ongoing withdrawals despite what is happening in the larger economy,” he says.

One other tactic to consider to ease worries about withdrawing money during a bear market is to set aside 15 to 18 months of cash to cover expected portfolio withdrawals during the length of a typical recession, Branton says.

Interested in crowdfunding? Measure it against your personal capacity for risk tolerance. Advisors note that crowdfunding, though a hot topic, can get investors into hot water if you don’t analyze its potential risks as you would any speculative investment. Steve elaborates:

Given the newness of crowdfunding, advisor Steve Branton of San Francisco-based Mosaic Financial Partners takes a similar stance, even if he couches it in warier terms.

“We consider it a speculative investment, so it’s relevant to have a discussion as to whether or not this sort of investment is appropriate for each individual client,” Branton, whose employer manages $623 million, tells FA-IQ. “Usually this discussion involves their personal tolerance for risk, their capacity for loss of the investment and the effect of a potential loss on their other long-term goals.”

Even if the rewards are delayed, they are more powerful if new grads start saving for retirement earlier. It’s tough to think long-term with your paycheck if you have immediate needs, but our own Steve Branton emphasizes how the investment horizon of a younger person automatically puts them on a winning path to retirement.

“Time is a huge factor,” says Steve Branton, a certified financial planner with Mosaic Financial Partners in San Francisco. “Assuming an 8% return, a 35-year-old would have to save twice as much as a 25-year-old and still wouldn’t catch up.”

Steve cautions writer Emily Starbuck Gerson that personal loans are only smart financial moves for people with specific short-term, cash-need circumstances, who have the income to cover ongoing monthly payments. Here’s a highlight:

While you may be able to qualify for a loan with less-than-stellar credit, your interest rate can be extremely high — sometimes upwards of 30%. If you want to qualify for a low rate, you typically need ahigh credit score, generally 750 or higher, Branton says.

It’s also wise to add up your monthly rent or mortgage costs, any other monthly loan payments (like student or auto loans) and any monthly minimum credit card payment amounts, Branton says. Divide that by your monthly income to calculate your debt-to-income ratio.

“The lower the DTI ratio, the easier it is to both qualify for a personal loan and the lower the rate you will be given,” says Branton.

“Give yourself the gift of a stress-free start to the year by not waking up to a bunch of credit card bills,” says Steve Branton, a certified financial planner in San Francisco. “Once you know the amount you can actually spend without going into credit card debt and who you need to give a gift to, you can work back from there to determine who are the most important people, how much to spend on them.”

Join writer Tracey Longo for FA to hear about the first legal case to “assert that common law marriage should exist for same-sex couples just as marriage by license does, and that such marriages established in one jurisdiction should be seen as valid in every other state, as it is for heterosexual couples.”

Steve weighs in on the financial and tax implications of marriage, including how assets are titled and how they’ll pass at death:

“For instance, I have a couple who owns an apartment building in the pricey Castro neighborhood here who didn’t want to get married. I showed them how the building would be reassessed with a $20,000 tax increase if one of them died. There’s no reassessment for married couples.They got married the next month,” he says. He also underscores for clients how surviving unmarried partners are not entitled to their partner’s defined benefit retirement plan assets unless designated as a beneficiary and won’t get a survivor’s benefit from their partner’s Social Security at all.

A tiny mistake can have huge repercussions, so financial planners triple-check details, build automated reminders into their process, and perform other methods of due diligence, as Steve explained to reporter Morey Stettner for Investor's Business Daily.

“My experience is (that) little mistakes can balloon into big problems,” said Steve Branton, a certified financial planner in San Francisco. “Having a structure in place to make sure you check all the details” can minimize the odds of errors, omissions or oversights.

Branton has conducted annual client reviews of all listed beneficiaries. He checks account titling and transfer capabilities, especially between tax-deferred retirement accounts and trusts. He also participates in monthly meetings with nine other advisors at his firm, Mosaic Financial Partners, to review best practices, assess processes and propose new ways to improve operations.

If individual investors are tempted to dabble in speculative investments, Reuters notes that they should follow Steve's practical advice and place a cap on use as a percentage of their total portfolio:

If you limit it to 10 percent, suggests San Francisco financial planner Steve Branton, then you contain any potential damage. Then, even if you lose it all in a worst-case scenario, the rest of your retirement funds would remain on course.

National home prices have yet to rise above their 2006 peak, and advisors are still working to address the aftereffects of the housing collapse. Locally, it’s a different story. Steve notes that Bay Area prices have soared, but that he still works with clients who have second homes in other states that will never recover.

What happens if you notice signs that your client is experiencing symptoms of elder abuse? What if this treatment is from a family member? Writer Ingrid Case ponders these questions and more, quoting Steve in the process:

Steve Branton, a senior planner at Mosaic Financial Partners in San Francisco, California, found out when a client’s best friend told him that she thought her son was trying to take control of her funds. Branton’s client called Adult Protective Services about the situation, and the agency interviewed the woman’s son. “That put the son on notice that he was on someone’s radar, and they’ve had no problems since,” Branton says.

In order to demonstrate cultural competency and cultivate a genuine connection with clients, advisors need to establish and maintain an authentic link with the communities they serve. Steve has been quoted extensively by Shelly Gigante in MassMutual's industry-facing blog:

“We have a large number of clients who are LGBT couples and/or Jewish, and in any practice the danger is that an advisor might say something like, ‘I have a Jewish friend,” or “I have a gay neighbor in my building,” which is done to make the client feel at ease, but it ends up making everyone feel awkward,” said Branton. “Our approach [instead] is to donate to various organizations and get involved.”

“There’s an opportunity there to build out your marketing plan and Internet presence in a way that shows the demographic you want to reach that you’re doing something meaningful, not just surfacy,” he said, noting such outreach initiatives yield a secondary benefit as well. “You learn a lot about the culture as you interact with members of that community, so when you meet with your clients it helps to deepen that connection.”

“Most financial planners are really in this business to help people,” said Branton. “If we really want to do that we need to spend the time and energy to get into our client’s shoes; to make them feel more comfortable.”

There are approximately 1.4 million transgender people in the United States, and if they choose to have gender confirmation surgeries as part of their transition, they will likely be facing steep medical bills that may not be covered by their health insurance. Steve offers advice on financing options in this article by Emily Starbuck Crone published on the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Looking for your first home? Let your budget and minimum requirements guide your expectations, develop criteria about when to make offers, and don’t forget your goals. Steve Branton understands the drivers impacting the real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area, and he has 6 tips for the uninitiated.

Financial advisors cite diversification and alpha as two important reasons to add select hedge funds to a client's portfolio, despite the bad press hedge funds have been receiving in general. They stress that risk tolerance must be analysed. Steve is quoted in this article by Juliette Fairley, stressing due diligence:

“We do a Finametrica survey to try and gauge the risk appetite of our risk-aggressive clients, then incorporate it into their investment policy statement.”

“To ensure you enter your 30s on the right track with your money, consider these five expert-recommended moves before you blow out your birthday candles.” Emily Starbuck Crone writes about money moves for the late twenties for Zing! Blog by Quicken Loans; the expert she consulted and quotes throughout the piece is Mosaic’s Steve Branton.

Doing a little pro bono work for friends can lead to enthusiastic referrals, Steve tells writer Thomas Coyle. “Beneficiaries of pro bono work see your passion and desire to help.” Not only does this method strengthen Steve’s business practice, but it enhances his personal relationships as well.

If you move between countries, your money will have to, too. Steve offers a primer on the topic areas associated with cross-border planning, and notes that the “potential pitfalls associated with cross-border financial transactions can range from severe penalties for failing to pay taxes properly, to banks simply refusing to move money between domestic and foreign accounts without draconian levels of verification.” If you’re thinking of moving to another part of the world, consult a professional to properly protect your financial interests, and to avoid as many headaches as possible during your transition.

A year ago, the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States. Over 120,000 couples have wed since the landmark decision, but as Alexandra Mondalek writes in Money Magazine, a section of Time.com:

“There's one big area where LGBT Americans ...lag: their finances.” Steve Branton, Senior Financial Planner at Mosaic, weighs in on what factors may influence this data.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance / May 2016

Would-be investors considering crowdfunding a startup should think less about hitting the jackpot and more about their financial plan, notes Steve to Anne Kates Smith. This article was originally published in the May issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine; it syndicated to Kiplinger's website.

Medical Economics / January 25, 2016

Steve Branton weighs in on pro forma tax returns, and how they might benefit unmarried individuals in long-term, committed relationships who are close to retirement. By Janet Kidd Stewart for Medical Economics.

Although delighting your loved ones with gifts can be exciting, no one likes a credit card hangover in January, or the feeling of having overextended yourself at the expense of your own long-term planning goals. Learn ways to set cash aside for gifts.

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